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Voting Now Open for USQ Member Awards 2014-2015

by US Quidditch | June 8, 2015

Each member team receives one vote; please have your designated coach or captain place the vote after consulting with the team. Voting will close at 11:59pm EST on Monday, June 15. Place your team's vote here.

FUNDRAISING AWARD

TEAM AWARDS

USQ SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD

George Mason University

Working with Maryland Quidditch to set up an official game to help ensure that Maryland was fully qualified for World Cup VIII. By going out of their way, they were able to help another team from their region get all of their requirements in.

Every tournament that GMU attends they stay until the very end whether they are in the championship game or not. They stay to help ref, snitch, and cheer on the teams. Their sportsmanship is unrivaled in this day and age when teams leave as soon as they are eliminated.

At the Mid-Atlantic Regionals, I was supposed to be head reffing the first round of games on Sunday with another team providing my assistant refs. This team though did not play until later in the day. GMU came early to provide refs for another game. When my refs didn't show up they offered to step up and help me and the tournament in order to keep everything on time. Sportsmanship!

Sportsmanship is an aspiration that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. George Mason is a team that fully embodies this. Obviously they are competitive and wish to be the best, but even if the results do not go their way, they make sure to always stay positive and respectful. Never have I seen a GMU player yell at a ref, player, or spectator during or after the game. They are always respectful and fair, working with everyone to ensure successful and fun events.

Illinois State Firebirds

*Jessica Jiamin Lang Photography*

We always make an effort to make friends with our opponents after games, even if we get angry on the pitch we make sure that teams know there are no hard feelings

We cheer for our fellow Midwest teams. At World Cup we spent most of our 2 days traveling around cheering on teams from the Midwest. We cheered on as many as we could, but for multiple games we cheered on Blue Mountain, Central Michigan, Kansas and Ohio State University

I personally take pride in the fact that our team is very friendly to every team on the internet. I feel as if hiding behind a keyboard is very easy for people to do, but I have never seen anyone from our team engage in online bullying or arguments with other teams.

I think we deserve this award because we really made it a mission to give ourselves a positive reputation in the community this year. Before we were a bit of an unknown team, but I don't think there is a single team in USQ that would have a negative thing to say about us. We always try our best to be friendly and make friends with people from every team we play. We have made strong connections with so many teams this year, and cheered them on at multiple tournaments. Our team has reached the point where we care about other teams in the Midwest's success as much as we care about our own success.

Rochester Institute of Technology

After every game at WC8, gave opposing team a pennant signed by the team, and candy.

Won Sportsmanship award at WC8.

Players frequently attend other teams games to cheer them on.

With a mostly new team this year, RIT quidditch definitely picked the right players. They are great people on and off the pitch. Each and every one of them is always smiling as they say good game, and they truly mean it. I mean, afterwards, they'll find your next game and cheer you on. They truly embody the awesomeness that is quidditch.

Silver Phoenix

At World Cup, before our match they were playing a game of ninja and invited our players to play with them too.

Throughout the game, they played exceptionally cleanly and maintained positive attitudes even though they were losing.

After the game and for the rest of World Cup, they continued their fun and positive attitudes despite not advancing to bracket play, and were friendly to our team every time we saw and interacted with them.

They are the most genuinely nice group of people I've met playing quidditch. They never took themselves too seriously, never resorted to playing dirty to try to win, and were so nice to us prior to our match that several members of our team didn't even want to beat them.

Western Washington Wyverns

Western Washington University provided 85% of their team as volunteers for Northwest Regionals. They truly exemplify sportsmanship in their willingness to volunteer.

They consistently play very sportsmanlike, they are aggressive but don't actively try to hurt other players and apologize when they do. They do their best to play by the rules and self-ref (ie. they don't wait for a ref to tell them they were beat to go back to hoops). They acted in this manner in every tournament I've seen them in, specifically Clash in the Cascades, Komrade Kup, and NW Regionals.

They fought long and hard with BSU to be the champions of NWRC and when they lost, they didn't get mad at the officials or BSU, and they congratulated BSU and celebrated their win. They were super supportive and accepted their defeat graciously.

The Western Washington University Wyverns is the most loving and considerate team in the Northwest. They truly exemplify positive sportsmanship and they are always so excited and ready to do anything you need of them. They are extremely gracious for any opportunities provided and they are the most positive and easy to work with team that I have ever encountered.

Wooster Scottish Nationals

Never argued with Referees or made negative comments to our team during the game.

Played a clean game, all yellow cards were unintentional.

Showed genuine concern for injury on our team during game.

I have never played a team until Wooster that is completely positive to their fellow teammates in good strides and bad, as well as refrained from any negative comments to the referee and other team. Their concern on an injury for one of our teammates was also completely genuine. Wooster is the only team I've felt compelled to congratulate after a victory because they won and did so gracefully.

XANDER MANSHEL AWARD

Arizona State University

Doubled the amount of volunteers from any other team at West Regionals.

Held multiple community outreach programs throughout the year with non-profits and at private events.

Semifinal finish at the West Regional Championship.

It's truly amazing to see how much work ASU has put into bettering Arizona quidditch this year. They've hosted kidditch events through the Boys & Girls Club, as well as at private birthday parties (which is also a clever fundraising technique for their team). They hosted exhibition matches and Q&A sessions at Phoenix Comicon Fanfest, and invited other Arizona teams to join them at that event. They've worked with local community teams in an effort to get more teams started in their area. They've built a presence in many cities outside of Phoenix, including the Peoria Sports Complex (one of two finalists for next year's West Regional Championship, and a potential future bidder for the US Quidditch Cup). They've worked with the ASU Resident Assistants in order to teach students in dorms how to play the sport and promote exercise/community bonding. They hosted open summer quidditch practices last year, and plan to do so again this summer. They're also one of the main advocates for the growth of refereeing in Arizona, personally contacting USQ about setting up field testing in their area, and consistently volunteering more referees than any other team at the tournaments they've attended. They've traveled to California multiple times this year, and all of that hard work paid off for them as they made a semifinal appearance at West Regionals and a strong 2-3 finish at World Cup VIII. Competition, Community, Creativity. ASU refuses to ignore any of those categories.

Portland Augereys

PDX has worked hard to bring quidditch to a new generation, working heavily on community outreach and kidditch events in Portland.

Their IndieGoGo for Regionals was extremely creative, selling many crocheted items and even hand-made Harry Potter house robes!

Despite their being a serious underdog competitor, they never lost spirit at regionals and worked extremely hard to fight, even pulling the snitch on the Regional Champions in an early game.

FIRST YEAR SURVIVAL AWARD

Arizona Quidditch Club

Getting second place in our first tournament at NAU and hosting a four-team tournament in Arizona.

Qualifying for World Cup as a first year community team.

Making it to the top eight at World Cup with a 13 player roster where we lost to the Lost Boys.

We hosted two high school teams to teach them more about the sport and help them improve their quidditch program. AZQC deserves the first year survival award because we interact with the community and we have grown tremendously since the beginning of the year. Because we exceeded expectations that were set for our team at its first year. We poured our hearts into the game and played to win. A lot of our players left their respective teams to grow as players and play at the highest possible level which they weren't getting. We are a group of like minded players who love the game and want to be the best we can be to win.

Capital Madness

After four months of existence, this team rallied together at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship in order to get a qualifying spot for World Cup VIII. Made up of alums from a variety of teams, these players were able to come together and achieve their goal of qualifying.

Being the first established and official team in the DC area, Capital Madness brings the sport to a new area and is promoting quidditch to a whole new variety of people. They are able to recruit from both previous players as well as people who have never played competitively before.

Lead by the Maryland alum, old NYDC player, and first time Team USA member, James Hicks is a solid coach who works towards building a cohesive and successful team. As a non-playing coach, he is able to see the big picture of how the game is unfolding, make sure players are performing and working together, and impart his knowledge of the game on the players for his team.

Capital Madness is a team made up of people who have graduated from their previous teams. However, unlike other community teams whose core resembles this makeup, Madness consists of players who work together on and off the pitch not just to see themselves succeed as individuals but to see the team succeed as a whole. That sets them apart from other community teams and makes them deserving recipients of the First Year Survival Award.

Los Angeles Gambits

*Isabella Gong*

SOCIAL OUTREACH/COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTION: The Gambits have attended practices of the Long Beach Funky Quaffles, Lost Boys and Blacktips this season and invited players from those teams to our practices to help build our region's skill and knowledge base. Our effort proved worthwhile at World Cup this season, as the West drastically improved from their performance in the previous Cup. The Gambits are actively trying to create a league within the West, and until then, are hosting open practices so new and returning players alike can continue to grow and play the sport they love during the summer.

DEMONSTRATED IMPRESSIVE LEADERSHIP: The Gambits organized and led the "Western Region Cheering Army," carrying the "West is Best" banner and assembling a massive group of Western players which cheered on Western teams during their most intense games of World Cup regardless of rivalries we had during the season.

SUBSTANTIAL GROWTH: The Gambits won their very first tournament of the season, and after a slump, traveled to Texas to compete against and learn from the very best. We returned to the West and became Regional Champions, and did extremely well in the most difficult pool play-bracket play route in World Cup history, playing close games with three top four teams and taking out Baylor University.

The Los Angeles Gambits entered the season with a lot of haters and doubters but in the end, proved that a team filled with friends who genuinely care about each other and the sport they play can accomplish extraordinary things. Several players on our team entered the season without a single tournament win, and some joined the team without an official game win under their belts whatsoever, and we ended the season Regional Champions. We played Lone Star, Lost Boys, Baylor and University of Texas IN A ROW at World Cup, and despite the turnout not being what we'd have hoped, we proved that in our first year, we became capable of hanging with the very best in the sport and maintaining a positive attitude no matter what difficulties were thrown our way. No other first year team traveled as often and far as we did, no other first year team played the number of elite opponents we did. Established teams and new players alike frequently ask our players for advice, and we readily do anything we can to help make our region and its players grow stronger and smarter. We didn't just survive this season... we came out of it proud and eager to continue to grow next year.

Moscow Manticores of the University of Idaho

The team is getting more involved in the online community, they hosted their own event this season (first official), and have been making progress with bringing legitimacy to the sport in a heavily football-focused town.

The team is getting more involved in the online community, they hosted their own event this season (first official), and have been making progress with bringing legitimacy to the sport in a heavily football-focused town.

Moscow Manticores are one of the oldest teams in the Northwest but, due to the sparsity of quidditch before the new region, they could not be USQ official.

This year, they are official, met all gameplay and referee requirements for regionals, and even hosted their own tournament, which was run extremely well. They are doing great things for quidditch in the Northwest! The Moscow Manticores have been a team for a while, but without the region they had a really difficult time developing. This year, they not only became official for the first time, they also met all requirements for regionals, getting 6th place, and hosted their own tournament!

The Warriors

In its first year, The Warriors did what no other team has ever done before and secured two sponsorships: SISU Mouth Guard and Vanguard Rugby. The team raised over $5,000 thanks to these sponsorships and fundraisers, including the Oktoberfest Invitational, Fundathon, IndieGoGos and t-shirt sales.

On a competitive front, the team qualified for World Cup 8 in the Northeast, getting knocked out in the semifinals, and made a Sweet 16 run in April. It also took first place in the Big Apple Quidditch Conference.

On the community side of things, the team hosted a kidditch day at JCC on the Hudson and was feature in multiple publications for their work. They will now be teaching kidditch at three birthdays this summer. They also worked in conjunction with New York University, QC Boston: the Massacre and Tufts University to start an annual tradition of Boston vs. New York (and spent an entire morning shoveling ice together to make it happen), a series of unofficial matches to help the two cities put their best foot forward at World Cup.

The Warriors is a team that was born from the ashes of the NYDC Capitalists. When most teams split, they suffer from loss of players, drive and funds. This team did exactly the opposite, as explained in the previous response. The veteran players band together to use their knowledge and talent to build what is arguably one of the most successful first-year programs in quidditch.

Tribe Quidditch

We went from 3 players in July to 27 total after World Cup.

We attended 3 tournaments, Regionals, and World Cup.

We held a small fantasy tournament for all of the nonofficial teams in Arkansas to help teach the sport and help these teams be motivated to become official next season.

This season we have played almost all top tier teams. UT 3x's, NYU, and others like that. We learned a lot from these games, but gettin beat up on tends to hurt moral. We were able to take those rough games and not only learn, but turn that into motivation to become better. Fort Smith Arkansas is very stuck in its ways. People are not very open minded to new things such as Quidditch. It wasn't until after World Cup that people started to really take the sport seriously in the area with news reports on us, social media blasting, and word of mouth to friends. Many people showed interest but never attended a practice because of fear of judgment from their friends. This year has been a very stressful and bumpy road, but it has all been worth it and next year we will work only harder to become a top contender in the Southwest region.

Western Washington Wyverns

At Northwest Regionals they placed second.

They hosted two different tournaments this year, one was Northwest Fantasy held last august and the other was Clash in the Cascades held in November.

Marcus Toomey has really done a great job running a team and pushing his team to take ref tests and become certified. In all of the tournaments I was at with them, I saw how involved each member was in volunteering.

I've been really impressed by this team; from competition to sportsmanship, they are one of the best teams in the Northwest. They are a team that we need to look out for; they have improved so much this year, can't wait to play against them again.

#SWAG AWARD

Boise State Abraxans

They designed a new logo this year that was memorable, interesting, and easy to doodle. It really helped out with their #swag.

This year they also got all new uniforms and they were pretty awesome. They had matching shorts and everything and it made them look very official.

They designed some really awesome #swag for their indiegogo, like scarves, buttons, shirts, position headbands, and Stew's Sexy Stew Calendar, which was a hit.

They have the best #swag of any team in the NW, if not the entire USQ. Their logo is super sick and their items are fun and quirky. They've really made a name for themselves with their #swag. And it looks so good on me!!

College of Charleston

Regional Championship in Florida we came together completely as a team with cheers from the sidelines, crowd integration, and comradery.

Any tournament we've been at. I mean, have you seen how cool we look with look with those pink socks?

The dance moves we break out before games definitely add to our already infinite levels of #swag.

I believe the College of Charleston quidditch team truly exemplifies #swag. As a team I believe we exude a certain aura when we step onto the field. Whether it be from the fact that our uniforms are always on point or the Ray-Bans we sport before every game, I believe that we as a team are the very essence of #swag and I couldn't be happier to play with a team of such good people.

Orange jerseys: While the orange jerseys are not quite as eye-catching as their new pink counterparts, having an alternate kit is classy as hell. It allows the team to avoid color conflicts with opponents, or just stay fresh by switching on day two of a tournament.

Matching shorts: No matter how good a jersey looks, the uniform isn't complete without matching shorts. Florida's Finest has matching shorts for both jerseys, allowing the team to look unified in their distinctive style.

Florida's Finest has carved out a strong identity centered around the flamingo in their clean logo. With a nickname and uniform to match, this identity is only strengthened by the flamingo mascot/lawn ornament they bring to tournaments.

Maryland Quidditch

The uniforms

The grenade snitch catch celebrate (as seen at World Cup)

The flag, as featured on everything we bring to tournaments, such as our banner and uniforms

This team deserves the award because of how attention-grabbing and sometimes polarizing their stage presence was. To begin, how could you miss those uniforms? To almost every other team in attendance, it was immediately apparent when UMD arrived. We even have a name for it, known as #FlagSwag, which isn't very far off from #Swag. Additionally, despite a fairly successful regular season, UMD entered World Cup as somewhat of an underdog, expected to do reasonably well but not go deep into the tournament. Despite those predictions, UMD made it to the final four, going through teams that others predicted they had no business beating. For example, very few people expected them to defeat Baylor, and their road to the final four turned heads and built the energy around the team.

TC Frost

A lot of factors go into defining swag. There are cheers and chants, jerseys and merchandise. TC Frost has got it all. The team started with some of the coolest uniforms in the league last year, and then brought it to a whole new level this season.

As evidenced in the pictures, players and fans now wander the streets of the world repping their Frosty hoodies, tanks, baseball tees, snap backs, receiver gloves, and TIGHTS.

Often this coincides with people shouting "Ice, Ice, Baby!" and, more elusively, "What's cooler than bein' cool?!" (the response to which is always ICE COLD).

Once the little team that could, TC Frost has stepped up its game. The swag you see represents the heart and soul of the athletes that pour all of themselves into this team as well as the friends that support it from around the country! At the end of the day, Frost plays hard and is proud to have its flag flown high.

University of British Columbia

UBC/BCQC have amazing swag! They have beautiful and classic sweatshirts, simple, yet fantastic, sunglasses (which sold out at World Cup so fast!), and well-made sexy calendars.

Their jerseys were in the finalists of Quidditch Post's best jersey competition and it is well-deserved.

This team has beautiful swag and they sell it well.

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Players such as Chris Champitto, Kyle Bullins, and Max Miceli embody swag when they walk on the pitch. Whether making long side arm shots, intense beats and tackles, or breaking opponents ankles with quick juke moves, all the players on this team walk onto the pitch with confidence and swagger.

Although the upgraded uniforms bring an extra level of swag to the team, having the matching sweatshirts that can double as uniforms on a cold day help add to their swag level as well.

Finally, just watch their Mid-Atlantic Regional run to the finals! The #swag level play throughout that tournament alone makes them the winners of this award!

UNC is a crazy athletic team that is competitive and successful and looks great while doing it. Their unique style creates a visual presence that is unrivaled in our sport. Their swag is present on and off the field and makes them deserving recipients of this award.

SERVICE AWARD

Hofstra University Flying Dutchmen

In November 2014, the Flying Dutchmen attended the Gold Coast International Film Festival's screening of "Mudbloods," the story of UCLA Quidditch in Port Washington, NY. The team watched the film with local fans and participated in a Q&A shortly after the film.

For a second year in a row, the Flying Dutchmen attended Massapequa High School's charity night in February 2015 to benefit the New York City Rescue Mission. The event featured the Hofstra Quidditch team scrimmaging in front of hundreds of community members and teaching young local students how to play the game.

In April 2015 the Flying Dutchmen visited a local youth activity club picnic in Massapequa, NY. There the team interacted with local youth teaching them how to play quidditch, handing out gifts and let them catch the snitch.

The Hofstra Flying Dutchmen Quidditch team deserves this award because it is made up of giving and caring individuals. Since the team's inception in 2010, they have participated in dozens of community service projects and events. The team has built a respectable rapport among community members. In 2016, the team will be invited back for a third consecutive year to Massapequa High School's charity night and they will continue to participate in Hofstra University's Relay For Life.

BRAND EXCELLENCE AWARD (NEW THIS YEAR!)

Bowling Green State University

This year we started a hashtag that we used for both the varsity and the junior varsity team, it was #BiggerBetterBG. It was very successful because almost every member of the team got involved and it was continued from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.

When I took over as secretary, our presence was little in social media, but since then, our 'likes' on Facebook this year went up from 300 to 1,263 and counting! With that, we were able to run a lot of campaigns for fundraising and involvement with our likers. Also, on our twitter and our facebook at every tournament we were updating scores for every game we played, which wasn't always easy to do, especially with both teams, but it was very successful.

One thing that made us really quality this year was our photos. We took pictures at every event we were at and posted them all over social media. From our facebook, twitter and instagram we made sure to let everyone know what we were doing and how they could get involved! Because our team is so cohesive, all the pictures we took showed how much fun we had together, and what a great program we have as a WHOLE.

I think Bowling Green State University deserves the Brand Excellence Award because we exemplify everything that the USQ stands for. We not only gained enough players to have one team, but we have two. And both teams qualified for World Cup on their own test, perseverance, and triumphs. BGSU has a strong social media presence because we believe that the best way to reach the 'youth' or students that are interested in what we do is by sharing our experiences through the internet. Whether it be posting pictures from Midwest Regionals, being asked to be on a BG24 News Segment on our local television statement, or tweeting out scores from every tournament, BGSU does an excellent job teaching and including others about why we love this sport so much. Every person no matter if they are on BGSU or Falcon Warriors, cares for, works with, and most importantly cheers on each other, no matter what the circumstance. And if that isn't Brand Excellence, then I certainly don't know what is. #BiggerBetterBG

Emerson College Quidditch

Emerson College Quidditch (ECQ) has sought to standardize and formalize a brand for both their competitive team and intramural league. At the 2014 Northeast Classic and the 2014 Northeast Regional Championship, ECQ live tweeted the event from their social media account, creating original tweets and interacting with official tournament accounts and other team accounts. By setting expectations and their own Twitter handle to track their tweets, ECQ provided exemplary coverage of the team's progress.

ECQ also redesigned their website, which they keep up-to-date with information on their intramural league and their involvement at the USQ level with brief write ups and coverage.

ECQ also sent out weekly emails that accompanied their weekly social media updates on their competitive team and their intramural league. Sharing scores, relevant event coverage, fundraisers, photos, and more, ECQ created an immersive experience for players and fans alike to keep up-to-date on all ECQ happenings. Striving for professionalism while maintaining their fun outlook on the sport, ECQ's representation of their brand covers all the bases.

Emerson College Quidditch (ECQ) is one of the oldest quidditch programs that remains actively involved with USQ. When ECQ first took off, they were governed by the IQA, in a time that players wore capes and the snitch was allowed off pitch. And as quidditch developed to a much different sport than it was then, ECQ has also developed to reflect the changes the sport has seen. What started as a joint intramural league and competitive team for ECQ has evolved into a six-team league and successful "World Cup" team. ECQ has evolved to represent those entities over the years, and this past year exceeded expectations with its coverage of its league and team. ECQ recently revamped its entire online presence, including its logo, website, and social media accounts. With weekly email newsletters, ECQ keeps its players and fans updated with photos, coverage, relevant fundraisers, and events in conjunction with its other online presences. Through the leadership of its dedicated members, ECQ has widened student involvement beyond Emerson's student body and into the greater Boston area. ECQ's leaders have worked tirelessly to bring professional levels of dedication to their quidditch brand, and it's brought a new level of commitment to the sport off of the pitch. For these reasons, ECQ is deserving of the Brand Excellence award.

Florida’s Finest

New Uniforms and Brooms custom made for the team.

Team swag made by a-line and custom tent for World Cup.

Use of social media to showcase team players and get the team name out.

The team has shown diversity in their uniforms and swag throughout the first two seasons of existence. The older, throwback orange uniforms pay homage to their Florida roots, and the pink and black showcase the flamingo mascot and athletic nature of the team. The custom orange brooms and swag from peterson and a-line respectively have also given the team a name on the social media pages. Overall you can't think of the south without the sexy uniforms and attractiveness in general of Florida's Finest-literally.

Kansas Quidditch

Being invited to be a part of Freshman Orientations for the University of Kansas because of how recognized our team is on campus. We were are featured in a video shown at every orientation and the freshman fair at the beginning of the year.

The KU black jerseys are recognized around the country by teams as we only bring them out against top competition. They signify respect shown to the best teams and KU is known for these jerseys by everyone.

We are known throughout the community of Lawrence as being willing to help and volunteer at multiple events such as teaching quidditch at the Summer Library Kickoff, at elementary schools, and other various activities around the city and in neighboring ones.

The Kansas Quidditch brand is recognized throughout the city of Lawrence and the USQ. Despite being in a geographic region that is isolated from most teams, we are constantly mentioned and recognized throughout the country for our consistent outstanding success and our role in the Lawrence community. In the quidditch community, Kansas Quidditch is known for always being a top contender every year as well our famous black jerseys that are used only a handful of games per year against the top teams in the nation. We are respected by our peers as well as throughout Lawrence for doing multiple community activities. We have taught quidditch to kids at elementary schools, to people at the Lawrence Public Library’s Summer Reading Kickoff and at other events in the community. We also are featured in freshmen orientation at the University of Kansas due to how well known we are on campus. Kansas Quidditch is known and spoken highly of in Lawrence as well as throughout the quidditch community.

Lost Boys Quidditch Club

Everyone recognizes the Lost Boys shield. Their logo is clean, recognizable, and memorable.

This year especially, the Lost Boys have created an atmosphere to accompany the team brand. They are welcoming, sportsmanly, and genuine in all interactions, both on and off the pitch. It conjures a distinct image of the team as a direct result of their culture. They are widely respected in the community for their clean play and great sportsmanship.

Has had numerous successful fundraising campaigns involving merchandise, including their ever-popular snapbacks.

This is a team that will posit solutions to problems, rather than restate them a million different ways. This adds to the team culture and recognition, building their brand as innovators and intellectuals off the pitch, as opposed to bullies or troublemakers. They have mastered the use of social media context, using it as a positive rather than a damaging aspect of their team identity.

This team has built their brand to signify a personality centered on community and positivity. A perennial powerhouse in the West, this team has maintained a strong identity over the years that garners respect without losing their "never grow up" attitude, as a community team filled with former collegiate players. They demonstrate great sportsmanship on and off the field, and show great inclusiveness by hosting multiple open practices throughout the year that many other LA players attend. The quidditch world knows who the Lost Boys are, and it's hard to not be a fan.

Ohio State Quidditch

Massively successful summer campaign for new players, had over 500 sign up during OSU's welcome week.

Had one of the most entertaining fan sections at USQ World Cup 8.

Team Tumblr page (osuquidditch.tumblr.com) was one of the most active during the entire season with great game photos.

OSU Quidditch this season had a two-team program that had an awesome online presence headed by the team's social media director Lacey Hutchman. The team's Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat accounts were well known in the Midwest and helped generate a lot of positive publicity for OSU's team. OSU also had one of the best cheering sections for World Cup 8, as evidenced by a lot of support from Illinois State's and Ohio University's teams coming to watch most of our matches.

The Warriors

The unveiling of The Warriors was executed in a subtle yet attention-grabbing manner via our social media channels. Our kits, sponsored by Vanguard Rugby, exemplify The Warriors color scheme and brand from head to toe: we have matching shorts, jerseys, hair pieces (our female beaters and chasers) and a handful of our players even wear matching blue cleats. Many stated they were some of the most legitimate uniforms our sports has ever seen.

Our logo is simple but embodies our name. The colors, blue, white and black, were chosen to represent our home in the frigid Northeast. Our logo features an axe, the W acting as the blade and the underline the handle. The handle also looks similar to that of a broom, the primary piece of equipment in our sports.

Our players live by The Warriors name (and hashtag [#livelikeaWarrior]) and, in turn, the mentality. We eat clean and train hard both during and after practices. We ensure we're the best we can be individually so we can put our best foot forward for our teammates. Even when we're bruised and battered, we keep going. We aim to be aggressive, brave and vigorous. Even when we know we're the underdog, we give it our all.

As touched on previously, our team tries to live up to our brand in everything that we do. Even our sponsor, SISU mouth guard, correspondents with our name, as sisu is a Finnish term that is interpreted in English to mean determination, strength and resilience. Every player on this team embodies the spirit of a warrior, and, in turn, our branding holds true.

Tufts University Tufflepuffs

Fantastic tweeting at regionals.

Effective social media campaigns leading up to regionals and world cup (meet the Tufflepuffs, etc).

Off the field this team is super cuddly and cohesive: exemplifying the qualities of USQ.

This team is one of the most interesting and consistent presence on twitter. They use fun and creative advertising slogans and campaigns to promote events and tournaments they are attending. Overall, they make everyone wish they were a Tufflepuff.

EVENT AWARDS

COMPETITION AWARD

Oktoberfest Invitational by Hofstra University Flying Dutchmen

October 11, 2014

12 teams, 200 volunteers, 100 spectators

The event helped generate awareness for quidditch, specifically on Long Island. News 12 Long Island, Long Island's most prominent news outlet, ran a story on the event and the surprisingly competitive and physical nature of the game played by Hofstra students. As a result, the event generated buzz on social media and more people became aware of the sport in the local area. Despite the wet and muddy weather conditions, the tournament saw some of the best competitive matches in the beginning of the season. Two top 20 teams were upset by mid-level teams, and the championship match between Tufts University and Maryland kept spectators and players engaged.

Phoenix Cup by Miami University (OH)

October 11, 2014

16 teams, 35 volunteers

They hosted 16 teams from around the Midwest in a central quad at a 15,000 person school. The tournament director was able to secure plenty of field space, large numbers of teams, and good competition at a reasonable cost.

Turtle Cup IV by Maryland Quidditch

September 27, 2014

15 teams, 5 volunteers

Held on the University of Maryland, College Park's campus this event helped to spread the growth of quidditch throughout the DC area. Advertised heavily on campus, the event was attended by students from across the campus and allowed for growth of Maryland Quidditch's individual team, as well as just spreading the idea that there is quidditch and it is competitive. The event was successful due to the enjoyment had by the teams, the organization of the tournament, and the start of competitive quidditch for the season. The tournament helped to establish a continual trend of competitive quidditch in the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast regions.

COMMUNITY AWARD

King’s Cup Charity Fantasy Tournament by Syracuse Quidditch

April 17, 2015

25 volunteers, 150 participants

This event was featured on the local news, creating awareness for both quidditch as a sport and for the Syracuse team. Over $2,000 was donated to local charities as a direct result of the tournament. Syracuse is centrally located for a number of teams in its area, and with momentum for the event's second year the tournament grew in size. The focus on friendly competition and growing friendships between local teams as well as its charity focus allowed us to have players registering from as far away as California.

FUNDRAISING AWARD

Funky Horror Picture Show by Long Beach Funky Quaffles

March 13, 2015

130 participants, 25 volunteers

$1,800 net revenue ($2,000 gross revenue)

Since this event was a crossover between quidditch and Rocky Horror Picture Show, it gained attention and audience attendance from a wide variety of fans, whether they were fans of Rocky Horror, friends and/or family of a cast member, and/or other quidditch players (some of whom drove across the state to attend). The purpose of the event was talked about many times throughout the evening, and the Long Beach Funky Quaffles brand was displayed prominently throughout the show. The event was so creative - it was fun, it was ridiculous, and a little scandalous. The place was absolutely packed with people in attendance. There were opening performances, raffles, and baked goods and alcohol for sale (unfortunately, no UNLIMITED SODA). The Funky Quaffles spent weeks preparing for the show, and the result was a really well put-together show with props, costumes, and choreography. They even got a couple quidditch players from outside the team to make cameo appearances during the show! This event really set a new bar for creativity in quidditch fundraising.

This event was so successful in not only raising awareness of Long Beach Quidditch & raising a significant amount of money, but it did something secondary to making money: bring the team together. Not only did the team want to do something completely unique, in addition to the more traditional fundraising campaigns (via sites like IndieGoGo), but they wanted to do something that was fun, brought them together, brought them out of their comfort zones, and showed the community more reasons why they consider themselves "funky". Not only did the event raise money and bring joy to the audience, but it further bonded the team as they worked hard on this production for three solid weeks--something that would only help the team on the pitch.

In order to raise funds for the Warriors' World Cup journey, the team rallied to get donations from the community through their first ever quidditch phone-a-thon. Instead of relying on impersonal Indiegogo links and facebook spam, The Warriors attempted a call to action that was a little more personal… During the Warriors 1st annual fund-a-thon, the team gathered together to call, email, facebook message, and otherwise engage friends, families, and fans to support efforts to make it to World Cup.

In exchange for pledges and donations, the team offered perks as most Indiegogo campaigns do. However, in addition to jerseys, shirts, and swag, they made sure to offer perks that help foster other quidditch teams and can inspire future athletes. The team offered to host kidditch events, help design teams' indiegog pages, and even build quidditch hoops for those without equipments--perks that would not only help the Warriors go to World Cup, but would help others play quidditch and sustain the community that we have all grown to love.

All images and texts were submitted by members of the quidditch community.

US Quidditch (USQ) is a magical 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to governing the sport of quidditch and advancing the sport by organizing events and programs that build community and empower all genders to compete together. Inspired by the Harry Potter novels, USQ serves athletes and fans, from sport-lovers to book-lovers and everything in between.